Wild Rice Salad with Diced Apples, Oranges, and Toasted Pecans

2 large apples, such as Braeburn, Fuji, or Honeycrisp, unpeeled, cored and diced small (4 cups)

2 cups toasted pecan halves, chopped roughly

1 cup dried black currants or dried cranberries

3 stalks celery, diced small (1½ cups)

⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions (green part only)

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Vinaigrette:

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from the oranges)

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

In a large saucepan, bring the water or vegetable stock to a boil. Add the wild rice, stir and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the wild rice pops open and is tender to the bite, 45 minutes. Transfer to a colander, rinse with cold water to cool, and drain well.

Cut the peel and pith off the oranges, then segment them by cutting between the dividers. Discard any seeds, but reserve the juice for the vinaigrette.

In a medium container with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinaigrette ingredients, close the lid tightly, and shake well to combine. Or, whisk to combine the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Add the diced apple, orange segments, drained wild rice, pecans, cranberries, and green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

In a small container with a tight fitting lid, combine the shallot, sherry vinegar and olive oil, close the lid tightly, and shake well to combine. Or, whisk to combine the ingredients in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, combine the frisee, traviso and vinaigrette. Mix together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the salad equally among plates. Equally divide the dates, chevre, pomegranate seeds and marcona almonds among the plates.

1 large head frisée, rinsed, dried, and chopped or torn into bite-size pieces

3 medium oranges

4 ounces goat cheese (chèvre) (about ½ cup)

Candied Spiced Walnuts (or pecans)

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from the oranges)

1 medium shallot peeled and diced small (3 tablespoons)

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Cut off the greens half an inch above the beets and reserve for later use (like, sautéed beet greens!). Scrub the beets.

Cut the peel and pith off the oranges, then segment them by cutting between the dividers (i.e. supreme). Discard any seeds, but reserve the juice for the vinaigrette.

In a roasting pan large enough to hold the beets in one layer, add the beets, then drizzle with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil, the salt and water. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, place on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for approximately 50 minutes to an hour, or until the beets are easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove from the oven, remove the foil and allow to cool.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, using a not-so-important hand cloth, wipe the beet skins off and discard them. Know this, though: even in your sweetest of dreams, you will most likely never wash the red stains out of that hand cloth.

Cut the beets into wedges, place them in a bowl, then combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a cup and drizzle over the beets. Fold to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a medium container with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinaigrette ingredients, close the lid tightly, and shake well to combine. Or, whisk to combine the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Gently toss the frisée and orange segments with your hands, then dress with half the vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper and additional vinaigrette to tasteDivide the salad among plates, then garnish with the beets, candied walnuts, and goat cheese, divided equally.

Ring in your New Year with a steaming mug of cider! Adult and kid friendly versions available!

Hot Mulled Cider

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

½ gallon freshly pressed apple cider

3 sticks cinnamon, plus more sticks for garnish

1 medium orange, unpeeled, sliced thinly

2 whole cloves

½ vanilla bean, seeds and pod: slice down the length of the pod, spread open, and scrape out the flesh by pressing with a butter knife

1 tablespoon honey, preferably orange blossom

⅓ cup brandy, optional

In a large saucepan or small pot over low heat, add all of the ingredients, and mix together. Stir occasionally until very warm. Serve in mugs with slices of orange.

Notes:

If the mulled cider will be sitting for an exceptionally long time, remove the cloves when the flavor is to your liking.

If you are a big fan of spice, combine 3 star anise and 1 inch of peeled, roughly chopped fresh ginger and put them into a tea strainer or mesh bag to steep along with the other ingredients. Much like steeping tea, remove the tea strainer or mesh bag of ginger and star anise when the desired flavor is achieved.

The holidays are upon us and with it comes delicious feasts and treats. Super Sous and I developed this easy, no-bake, drought friendly (aka -no dairy/vegan) Coconut Pumpkin Pie recipe to make your Thanksgiving and other special holiday meals a win. But, wait… why wait til the holidays?! You can prepare and enjoy this right now!

Add the ginger snaps, coconut oil and pitted dates to a food processor. Process until very well combined, approximately 1 minute.

Empty the contents into a 9½-inch deep dish pie pan.

Using a flat instrument (I use the top of a non-stick spray can) press the ginger snap mixture firmly and evenly across the bottom and also up the sides of the pie pan, using your thumb as a guide at the top of the pie pan as you press the mixture up the side of the dish.

Transfer into the refrigerator and chill for at least 45 minutes.

Pie Filling:

¼ cup water

1½ teaspoons agar agar powder

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk (not low-fat)

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 (5.4-ounce) can coconut cream

½ cup dark brown sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Stir to combine the water and agar agar powder in a medium (3½ quart) saucepan. Let sit for 10 minutes.

When I first met Super Sous, she raved about her Mom’s banana bread recipe which, on special occasions during her childhood, her Mom would whip up. Super Sous’ mom, admittedly, is not especially fond of cooking, but she will dust off her gloves to make a mean banana bread from time to time. We recently asked her for the family recipe which she sent along (Thank you, Adele!) and when we baked it off, still stands the test of time. However, with a few modifications (enter a food processor) and a little flavor boost (hello pumpkin pie spice, hello dates), we made Super Sous’ Mom’s recipe, dare I say, extra delicious and definitely easier to prepare (who doesn’t love that?!). I think Mom herself would agree and my guess is that next time she feels like banana bread, she’ll give this version a try.

Set an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides a 9×5 bread loaf pan with butter and lightly dust with flour.

Place flour, oats, salt, baking soda, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and dates in a food processor. Process until dates are broken down and mixture is fairly even. (There will still be some very small pieces of dates-which is fine.)

Add butter, eggs and bananas and process until mixture is fully combined.

Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour. Test readiness by poking a toothpick or knife in the middle of the loaf; if it comes out clean, it’s ready. If it needs more time, cover top with foil and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Christmas is only 4 days away (unless the world ends today, in which case, it’s been a wonderful life and please can I have one more Latte) and if you, like me, need to do some last minute shopping and live in the DC area, you have 3 (yes, three!) opportunities to get your signed (personalized) copies of my seasonal cookbook (and one of the Washington Post’s top cookbook picks for 2012) Great Food Starts Fresh this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.